Nuremberg: The Trial of the Nazi War Criminals

A BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Drama

By: Jonathan Myerson

Narrated by: Alex Kingston, full cast, Henry Goodman, Freddie Fox, Natalie Dormer

Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

A 16-part dramatised reconstruction of a landmark moment in history—the groundbreaking trial of the 22 most notorious Nazi war criminals.

Summer, 1945. The war is over, and Germany has surrendered. Across Europe, the top surviving Nazis are being tracked down, arrested and imprisoned in a once-opulent Luxembourg hotel, on 24-hour suicide watch. Now, the Allies must decide what to do with them. After much deliberation, Britain, America, Russia and France agree that Hitler's high command must be formally tried. This will be an entirely new kind of trial, with utterly new charges: those of 'crimes against humanity' and 'genocide'. And before it can even take place, numerous crises and obstacles must be overcome....

As court proceedings finally get underway, the enormity of the Nazis' crimes is revealed via a mountain of documentary evidence: and chilling footage of the concentration camps. Over the next 218 days, the accused—among them Hitler's architect and close ally, Albert Speer, and Deputy Hermann Goering—are cross-examined and forced to admit to the shabby gangsterism of the Nazi war machine. With the judges' verdict imminent, who will be executed and who acquitted?

Featuring a stellar cast, including Henry Goodman, Freddie Fox, Alex Kingston and Natalie Dormer, Jonathan Myerson's epic series brings the process alive from the ground up. We see the trial—and the events leading up to it—through the eyes of some of the myriad individuals involved: the US Army officer guarding the cells, the Russian interpreter translating the indictments, the psychologist who runs tests on the defendants, hoping to find the mystery of human evil, and the young German girl working in the court cafeteria who must come to terms with her country's collective guilt.

Drawing on eyewitness testimony, contemporary reports, more than 20 volumes of court transcripts and more than 2,000 hours of audio and newsreel, this comprehensive drama gives us a fresh understanding of the immense achievement of those who fought for justice in 'the last battle of World War II'—and reveals how that phenomenal historical moment shaped our world today.

Also included is a bonus interview in which Jonathan Myerson discusses the writing of Nuremberg with Kristan McMahon of the Robert H. Jackson Center.

Credits:

Written and directed by Jonathan Myerson.

Produced by Nicholas Newton.

Sound designer: Adam Woodhams.

Studio manager: Mark Smith.

Casting director: Ginny Schiller.

Original score: Metaphor Music.

A Promenade Production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 27th August - 15th October 2021.

With thanks to Kristan McMahon.

©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

History at it's most powerful

"Nuremberg: The Trial Of The Nazi War Criminals" was one of the most punishing and exhausting yet profoundly powerful books I've ever read on audible. Produced by the BBC and performed as an episodic audio-drama "Nuremberg" kept me invested from word one. The trials at Nuremberg were some of the most consequential moments of the 20th century. Not just because men and women who committed some of history's most obscene atrocities were finally brought to justice but also because the trials would establish precedent, order, and justice in a world engulfed by war, deprivation, mistrust, and uncertainty. We have to remember that as the true horrors of the Holocaust came to light and an accounting of the dead and broken of WW2 began, many wanted these defendants "put up against the wall" and summarily shot. Instead, the world saw and reckoned with the horrors of the second world war and put the surviving perpetrators of history's greatest crime on trial and demonstrated the guilt of the Nazi regime for the world to see. This production does a stellar job of showing the cost (both personal and nationally) of the Nuremberg trials as well as the truly staggering amount of work it took to make them a reality. As you can imagine, this can be quite a difficult read. The atrocities, barbarism, and industrial cruelty of the Holocaust is not shied away from. Those unprepared or unable to hear the catalogue of crimes that was the Final Solution might want to give this a pass. However, I will say that while the heavier and sadder moments are enough to make a reader cry and lose all hope in humanity, the production, performances, and triumph of justice are enough to make this a very rewarding listen. At different points I found myself disgusted and horrified, compelled and enraptured, and by the end I was even inspired and hopeful. There is a profoundness and poignancy to this production that I think many other readers will be moved by. Well-researched, well-written, and perfectly performed "Nuremberg: The Trial Of The Nazi War Criminals" is a rewarding and illuminating, if somewhat exhausting and disheartening, production. Whether you're a student of law, a student of history, or just someone trying to study the Nuremberg trials and World War 2, you'll find an elucidating experience here.

If you enjoyed "Nuremberg: The Trial Of The Nazi War Criminals" and are looking for similar titles you might also like the BBC productions of "First World War: The Complete Collection" about WWI, "Tsar" about the Romanov dynasty, and "Caesar" about the Roman Empire. If you're looking to continue studying the Nuremberg trials however, you might enjoy "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn and Robert Gellately, "The Nuremberg Trial" by John & Ann Tusa, "Report From Nuremberg" by Harold Burson, and "Doctors From Hell" by Vivien Spitz.